"Changing the way we work" is easier said than done, and many people may have felt this way through the introduction of telework and working from home. The challenges that stand in the way of changing the way we work are often complex, and various measures need to be implemented simultaneously. As mentioned in this article, we organize our efforts in three areas: "space," "IT," and "behavior." Of course, "space" visibly represents the company's "work style" and the "vision" behind it, and changing it has a major impact on workers who work there. Unfortunately, if "IT" and "behavior" do not keep up, the potential of "space" will not be fully realized, and the transformation of work style will not progress as expected. We have been keenly aware of this fact since we started practicing a flexible work style called ABW (Activity Based Working) as a pioneer in Japan in 2018, and we continue to face the difficulty even now.
Especially now that the digitalization of work and communication is progressing and the need for DX (digital transformation) is being called for, the IT environment is closely related to the way we work. In this column, we will introduce the efforts and survey results at our Tokyo headquarters, ITOKI TOKYO XORK. We hope that this will be a helpful hint for those who are considering making major changes to the way they work.
First, we freed our employees from paper.
When building the new Tokyo headquarters, the company decided to seriously implement a mobile work style based on self-discretion. To achieve this, it was necessary to reform the workflow that was so dependent on paper. Before the move, each department was informed that "in principle, there will be no cabinets for paper documents in the new headquarters," and in about six months, the workflow was reconsidered and existing paper documents were disposed of and scanned. Application forms were put into an electronic approval system. The use of unlimited cloud storage was encouraged, and for documents that absolutely needed to be stored, a machine that could scan large amounts of documents at high speed was installed to encourage digitization. As a result, the number of cabinets in the office was reduced to one-fifth of that before the move, and most of them are used to store equipment rather than documents.
In addition, employees' work computers had been thin clients for a long time, but the weight of the terminals themselves was a bottleneck. By replacing them, we made it easier for employees to carry them around. Also, if we were to eliminate the use of paper, the act of "taking notes on documents" would no longer be possible on a paper-based basis. We distributed iPads and Apple pencils to departments and employees who requested them, and created an environment where documents could be viewed and written on digitally. Since employees do not have their own desks, we distributed one smartphone to each employee. Frankly speaking, we have made a considerable investment in IT devices.
Thanks to this focused paperless effort that began before the relocation, 85% of the head office workers is now essentially digitally based. This can be considered high enough compared to before the relocation. However, even with the encouragement of telecommuting due to the new coronavirus pandemic, some departments have not been able to change their work style workers and system upgrades have not caught up, and 15% of workers still work in a paper-based environment.
The results of the survey also indicate that workers who work in a paper-based environment do not feel they are working productively, and this is one area where continued efforts are needed.
Training and information are key
Looking back at the beginning of the relocation, I feel that we should have put more effort into providing training and information on how to use IT tools. Some of you reading this column may have heard of cases where teleworking was not possible when you were trying to accommodate people with low IT skills.
As mentioned briefly in the white paper "ABW for New Normal," Japan is characterized by a low awareness of productivity overall. However, it seems to me that one of the factors is not only awareness, but also a lack of knowledge and information on how to improve productivity. For example, the results of multiple surveys have shown that using multiple displays improves productivity and work efficiency. In principle, all individual work desks in the head office are equipped with external monitors, so the environment is in place for multiple displays, but initially many workers did not use monitors and worked only on small laptop screens. However, by introducing the survey results mentioned above in posters and actually using them to feel Advantage of using devices, many workers are now making effective use of external monitors. It is a great waste to have a period of time in which the Advantage of capital investment are not felt.
Furthermore, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, head office employees have been working with only 30-35% of their time in the office. Even now, many employees are able to work without being tied to a specific location, but in an internal survey, many employees cited "personal skills and abilities" and "technical support" as things they would need to work more flexibly.
I think it is also necessary to carefully announce knowledge and information that the information systems department takes for granted, how to use devices and applications, newly added functions, etc. I also think that in the future it will be necessary to create a culture and environment where information such as "this app was useful" or "there was this function" can be shared within the field.
Communication styles also need to change radically.
Also, looking at our internal survey, workers who were able to use IT tools effectively not only for individual work but also for team communication were able to work flexibly, using various spaces in the office and being mobile. We had to change not only the way individuals worked and their workflow, but also their communication style.
In addition, whether in or outside the office, advance "planning" is very important for communication between people who work remotely. Rather than relying on communication to occur naturally as when working together in an office, it is necessary to set up communication opportunities regularly, intentionally, and proactively. Some employees choose to work in areas where they are likely to meet people when they come to the office, when they want to communicate spontaneously. Whether it is done face-to-face or digitally, getting into the habit of setting up these communication opportunities takes more time than mastering how to use a web conferencing tool.
It takes time, so it's better to take the first step quickly.
Employees working at the head office have been limiting their attendance at the office and working from home since the end of February 2020, when signs of the COVID-19 pandemic first appeared, and even before the state of emergency was declared. We believe that we were able to quickly transition to this mode because we have more than a year of experience in challenging ourselves with a work style of working remotely within the office.
Changing workers in the wake of the pandemic as a "run-up" to find a new way of working that suits your company.
ITOKI also offers services such as support for implementing Activity Based Working and hybrid work navigation to find a balance between working in the office and working from home. Please feel free to contact us for more information.
